Mayaguana is the most isolated major family island in the Bahamas. No one lived there until Turks Islanders migrated there in 1812.  The island has 312 inhabitants and is home to the Bahamas hutia, a species resembling a cross between a rat and a rabbit, which was believed extinct until the 1960s.

Located 95 km north of Inagua, Mayaguana is a stop frequented by sailors en route to the Caribbean.